Garibashvili Calls Closed-Door Trial 'Shadow Justice' in New Letter From Prison
By Messenger Staff
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili released another letter from prison, describing the decision to hold his trial entirely behind closed doors as "shadow justice" and political persecution.
Garibashvili wrote that the authorities' decision was meant to remove public oversight and conceal what he alleges is psychological terror and blackmail carried out against him. "This is a classic example of a kangaroo court," he said. He accused the authorities of applying double standards and selective justice, claiming the prosecution was seeking to hide evidence of blackmail and psychological torture allegedly inflicted on him.
He reiterated that his case does not concern an "ordinary criminal offence" but "politically motivated persecution."
The substantive hearing in his case began on November 2, Garibashvili wrote, and he had intended to make a public statement there about the political persecution and pressure he says he has faced. Instead, he said, the authorities ordered that his hearings be held entirely behind closed doors.
Closing the hearings while similar cases were heard in public amounts to discrimination, shows double standards and "grossly violates the fundamental principle of open justice," he wrote. He called the authorities' motive "absurd and unfounded," saying cases involving other people in the same context or facing similar charges were generally heard in public. The procedure, he said, was being used "not to uphold the rule of law but as an instrument of selective justice."
Garibashvili argued the closure was intended to conceal "how political interests, mechanisms of pressure and fabricated evidence intersect in this case." Without public and media scrutiny, he wrote, systemic shortcomings and the persecution and retaliation against him could be hidden. He described it as political isolation aimed at silencing a political figure and moving the proceedings to a format "in which the truth cannot be revealed in the public sphere."
The decision, he said, was driven by fear and designed so that proceedings take place "in the dark." "I want to make it clear that I have nothing to hide," he wrote, adding that he had requested open proceedings conducted "in the light."
Under international law and European standards, Garibashvili wrote, closing hearings to conceal political processes rather than out of objective necessity is a fundamental violation of the Convention. Closed, non-public and selective proceedings, he said, are among the main indicators that a case concerns politically motivated persecution rather than an ordinary criminal offence.
During the closed hearing, he said, he told the judge about the psychological terror and combination of criminal acts he alleges were carried out against him, including psychological pressure and torture, mental and moral suffering, coercion and obstruction of his political activities. He said these actions amount to an "extremely serious combined violation" of Articles 3, 6 and 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The entire process, he added, goes beyond the legal framework and is "a classic example of politically controlled justice."
Garibashvili said he first spoke publicly about the alleged persecution and serious crimes against him on August 17, when he published on social media a letter sent by the authorities. He has since been waiting for an investigation, which he said has not been opened. Upon receiving information about a crime, he noted, the Prosecutor's Office was obliged to launch one.
The Prosecutor's Office and the court knew of the blackmail and the letter, he wrote, but failed to investigate. Instead, they brought "new, absurd charges" against him in line with the ultimatum set out in the letter, then closed the proceedings and concealed the materials. "The state itself assumed responsibility for this crime," he wrote.
His defence team was also not permitted to submit a key piece of evidence in court, the blackmail letter, Garibashvili said, and is being denied access to certain case materials, a gross violation of the principle of equality of arms. Under international law, he wrote, such proceedings have "no legitimacy whatsoever."
Garibashvili concluded that the closure of the trial fits a pattern he had already raised publicly: pressure and blackmail in prison, disregard of evidence, refusal to grant access to case materials and, finally, hiding the proceedings from the public. "All of this is part of a single, deliberate process that has nothing to do with justice," he wrote, describing it as characterised by political persecution and retaliation.
